Wordenet755 - Portfolio

Goal 1. To be knowledgeable about facilitating and managing online courses effectively guided by national standards (e.g., iNACOL and ISTE) and instructional design theory.
Chapter 10 Reflection
Before diving in and creating an online class it was essential that I understand what goes on behind the scenes. So for this goal I picked the reading from Theory and Practice of Online Learning, 2nd Edition, specifically chapter 10. This chapter highlighted for me what must be in place before the development of the course can begin. By reading and reflecting on this chapter I gained knowledge about facilitating and managing an online course. It brought to light all that needs to be done before the course can begin. What was interesting is that a lot of what was mentioned are things I do now for my students just adjusted for an online community. For example it said that brick and mortar teachers should develop reciprocity and cooperation among students, which is something every teacher does in a variety of ways and for online programs the teacher needs to provide for timely and appropriate interaction between students and faculty, and among students (Anderson, 2008). It was good to see how the techniques and strategies I already use can relate to online teaching.

Goal 2. To be knowledgeable about research in aspects of distance education and the use of telecommunications in educational and other settings.
Annotated Bibliography
For this goal I choose my annotated bibliography. This task asked me to research one aspect of digital/distance learning and how it is used in an education setting. When I saw the list of topics I knew right away I wanted to explore the flipped classroom. I had heard several colleagues talking about this and was never really sure if it was something that would be useful to me. This task fits this goal because I gained a wealth of new knowledge about how this digital learning technique is used in a variety of educational settings and I am more knowledgeable about the research that is currently out there. This task was extremely useful to me because it is something I am very interested in and would want to use someday in my own classroom. I learned a lot about the flipped the classroom and how it benefits the students. Many articles and case studies also cited several reasons why the flipped classroom would not work and at the very least some of hurdles it contains. Some of these hurdles I had never considered before and this task helped open my eyes to all aspects of the flipped classroom.

Goal 3. To critically evaluate examples of distance education implementation in educational and business settings.
Course Evaluations
For this goal I choose the course evaluations task. This task fits this goal because I was able to critically look at two different examples of distance education and take away new knowledge about creating an online course. Whenever I want my students to start something new I always show them examples. I show them what it should look like and what it should not look like. By doing this I am giving my students clear expectations of what I want from them. I feel this task was doing the same thing. By critically looking at others work and using a rubric I learned what was expected of a great online course. Specifically I learned that there a lot more to creating an online course than its content. For example, I never took into consideration the importance of support for the learner. I guess I took it for granted knowing who to contact when something went wrong, or that I knew how to get to links. This task really showed us what all is required for a successful online course. Taking what I learned from this task I was better suited to help create an online course. I have no future plans right now of teaching an online course but this activity and the course site build task definitely prepared me to do just that.

Goal 4. To construct effective delivery of courses, topics, or training by using existing course development and delivery tools.
Course Site Build
Reflection
For this goal I choose the course site build. I have linked the reflection for that task. This task asked us to construct an actual course using all of the information we had accumulated so far. For this task we had to reflect back to our readings, our research, and our evaluations of other courses. This task fits the goal because we had to use course development tools to create a course for students to actively participate in. If the other tasks before this one shined a light on what goes into creating an online course then this one turned on the spotlight. I felt that this task was a great culminating activity. It brought everything we had learned and studied into one task that required us to use everything we had learned. Ultimately I learned how to put everything I wanted my students to learn online. This task was not easy and I was very thankful for my group. These tasks brought to light my desire to one day teach an online class. If/when I teach a course online it is this task and this class that I will reflect back on and use what I learned here to create a great online class.

III. Summary
In summary this course taught me a lot about online teaching and about myself. Entering into this course I really didn't have any desire to be an online teacher. This course has, if not changed my mind, opened it up to the possibilities of online teaching. You would think being an online student would prepare you a little for this course. Having gone through many online courses I thought I would have known more about teaching an online course, I was wrong. After reading an article or finishing a project I found myself saying "oh that's why we do that". I uttered that phrase on more than one occasion. When we read articles or chapters about creating online community I instantly understood the need to introduce myself, or include a picture, or even why the sound of my voice was so crucial to our community. Understanding what online instructors do and why they do it has given me a new-found appreciation for online education.